Black female scientist leads cancer cure laser technology

Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green is a recent winner of $1.1 million grant for further developing and a technology she pioneered that uses laser-activated nanoparticles to treat cancer.

“Usually if there is an invitation to speak at a forum like that, I accept it because I feel like it’s a responsibility,” she said. “There are so few of us [black women in STEM fields] I don’t feel like I have the luxury to say I’m too busy.”

“It looks like I’m special, but I’m not. I’m no different from anybody else,” she said. “When opportunity found me, I was prepared.”

Green spent seven years developing to target the cancer cells without harming the healthy cells around them.

“I was completely overwhelmed with joy, with thanksgiving, humbled at the opportunity that a group of my peers thought that my work was worthy for such a grant,” she said. “This is a huge door opening. It outlines a path to take this treatment to clinical trial.”

“I’m really hoping this can change the way we treat cancer in America,” said Green.

“There are so many people who only get a three-month or six-month survival benefit from the drugs they take. Then three or six months later, they’re sent home with no hope, nothing else we can do. Those are the patients I want to try to save, the ones where regular medicine isn’t effective for them,” she added.